


The language of flowers

by Mah_cat_typed_this



Category: Pikmin (Video Game)
Genre: Communication, Cute, Father Figures, Friendship, Gen, Language Barrier, Olimar is everyone's dad, Sign Language, Team as Family, The pikmin are precious, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-21
Updated: 2020-11-21
Packaged: 2021-03-10 07:01:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,894
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27649225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mah_cat_typed_this/pseuds/Mah_cat_typed_this
Summary: When two alien races team up to survive in the untamed wilderness, it's only natural they'd begin to understand some of each other's mannerisms.
Comments: 13
Kudos: 54





	The language of flowers

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for Pikfic for the inspiration! This is their blog, show them some affection! http://pikfic.tumblr.com

Out of their crew of five, only two could actually be considered experienced in deep space travels, the other three had barely ever stepped on a ship with a destination further than a few light years away. Even for those used to flying far from home, dealing with all the hazards the deep space threatened them with such familiarity it was like cooking breakfast or going to the grocery store, PNF-404 was the strangest planet they’ve ever seen. Never a dull day there, always some sort of great discovery awaiting, be either treasure or food, and always some life threatening danger.

The pikmin, when working together, were not easy to take down, and when they were being led by their captains, there was little that could stand in their path and live to tell the story. Even then, just when they thought they had gotten the hang of things, the planet made it its duty to put them back into their place, give a reminder of how small they were and how easily their life could be taken.

The pikmin and their leaders were powerful, but nature was even more. Never let your guard down, never let your ego grow, never be too confident.

On foggy days like those, it was better to stay close to their landing site, no one could know what would be hiding behind the mist, waiting to attack any stray creature that passed by. A tiny, lost and cold pikmin was a meal no monster would pass up. And so, they stayed close, taking the time to catalog their newest discoveries and rest. Although they’d still bring a few pellets back, they still never wandered too far away. The pikmin were confused at their lack of progress, but one look at the mist covering the path and they understood, more than happy in staying close to their homes.

Alph was never one to stay still for long, whenever he was graced with free time, he’d use it to check the ship for any possible malfunctions or damage they had overlooked. When everything was checked and fixed, he liked to upgrade the Drake, it was he who changed the fruit scanner to a...everything scanner, even alien communication devices and food thieves.

He barely paid any mind to Brittany playing with the winged pikmin, Louie wandering around aimlessly while mumbling something about bugs, the captain trying (and failing) to teach the pikmin battle plans, or Olimar quietly humming to himself as he updated their creature journals. The young engineer was too busy making sure the new technology was properly assembled into the Drake’s propellers, hoping that maybe next time they won’t crash land on the planet.

_Squeak!_

A red pikmin stood by his side, curious eyes shifting between Alph and the Drake, tilting its head and placing its hand in its chin.

“Oh! Hi, I’m fixing the Drake.” The young koopaite brought his hand up to wipe his forehead before remembering the helmet was on the way. “We crashed... again, and I decided to fix it with that strange device the hocotatians found yesterday... their treasure hunting sense sure is something.” He couldn’t help the amused laugh, the pikmin listened closely to his words, but as expected, merely continued to stare at him, tilting its head to the other side and repeating the hand gesture.

“Yeah, thought so... you guys are good listeners.” Alph smiled, patting the pikmin's head, who chirped happily, leaning into the touch. The pikmin couldn’t understand, but they always listened anyway. Even if their blank stare could be rather unnerving, it was something they were slowly growing used to, and learning to appreciate the little plants' unwavering loyalty and dedication. They could speak for hours until their throat ached, the pikmin would listen, even if they couldn’t understand. It was one of the many things that fascinated them about the little fellas. Pikmins did appear to have some sort of language, their chirps and squeaks were followed by a few gestures, but never made any sense for the aliens, still, like the pikmin always did to them, they listened. It was fascinating to see, to wonder what they were saying, maybe that’s how they felt.

Alph never thought he’d understand them, it was only recently he realized that those chirps and squeals actually had some resemblance of a pattern, let alone actually understand them. He was a curious koopaite, however, and kept on wondering what was going on through their heads.

Pikmins didn’t understand their captains, the captains couldn’t understand the pikmin, but they had their whistles and the pikmin responded to it, that’s all they needed.

Then, just when they were so certain, the planet decided to surprise them once again and that time it didn’t need to use any hungry creature to do it.

While the pikmin was happy to have received affection, it was still staring at Alph with a blank stare, eventually running off to the rest of the crew when Alph tilted his head in confusion. It tried with Brittany, waving its arms to get her attention then squeaked much like it did with Alph, making a gesture with its hands.

_Merp!_

_Squeak!_

“What’s wrong, little one?” she kneeled down to the pikmin’s level, watching it repeat those same squeaks, putting its hands together in front of it, then pulling them apart, keeping one hand in front of it, and the other to the left.

The botanist was just as confused as Alph, she hummed in confusion as several of her own pikmin squeaked as well, not necessarily repeating the red’s movements, but responding to it.

_Mrrp!_

_Woo!_

“What’s going on with the pikmin?” Charlie stepped towards them, humming at the commotion beside Brittany, she merely shrugged as Alph walked to stand beside them. The winged buzzed at whatever the red said, then turned to their captains with wide, expectant eyes. 

“What is it, little ones...?”

All she received in response was more chirping, sounding more and more urgent. The three were still as lost as before, watching the small group try yet again to make their captains understand.

The gesture they were making with their hands was strangely familiar: placing their hands together, then slowly pulling them apart, one hand stays where it was, the other pulled to the left. Confused and curious, Alph repeated their movements, trying to understand what could it mean. Whatever they wanted, it sounded important.

_Mrrp..._

_Uhm..._

Unfortunately, Louie had long since disappeared with a small group of pikmin with him, they weren’t sure what he did when he wondered off on his own, but weren’t about to question the hocotatian's strange behaviour. The only other person left was-

_Weee!_

The pikmin were already running off to the patch of tall flowers Olimar had recently decided to take notes on, so focused in his research he almost didn’t hear the small stampede going in his direction, chirping loudly.

“What’s wrong?”

“The pikmin are trying to say something, I believe.” Charlie walked towards them as Olimar knelt down, trying to make sense of the incessant chirping coming from the small creatures.

“We can’t figure it out...” Brittany, much like Alph, repeated the gesture a few times in an attempt to figure out what it could mean. She had never been all that great with charades, but the motion vaguely reminded her of pulling something, maybe it could be one of those sprouts the winged pikmin could pull? But then the motion wouldn’t be to the left, but upwards, right?

_Squeak!_

Olimar's ear twitched in surprise, he placed his tablet back in his pockets before standing up. 

“Where?”

The red pikmin pointed to the dirt wall they had broken down a while ago, opening the way to the untamed wilderness that was currently covered in a blanket of thick fog. The sounds of animals scurrying around and the shadows cast by the sunlight were clear signs of the dangers that awaited those who left the safety of the landing site. Most animals knew better than try to target the onions and ship, but wouldn’t hesitate to attack if they entered their territories.

Much to the koopaite trio's surprise and utter confusion, Olimar ran past them, disappearing in the mist, being followed by the red pikmin and a few others. The rest simply returned to their usual activities when they had a slow day, like trying to dig a hole somewhere or toss each other around. The winged pikmin were carrying off the others who couldn’t fly, so they could experience the feeling of soaring through the sky.

Alph looked at Brittany and Charlie, both returned his utterly confused stare. A few minutes later, the older captain returned with the pikmin, carrying the corpse of one dwarf bulborb. One single blue pikmin sheepishly followed the others, holding hands with the energetic and curious red.

“What was that?”

Charlie stepped forward, waiting for the onion to process the corpse, ejecting a few pikmin seeds. Olimar sighed, a small, relieved smile on his face as he dismissed the squadron.

“This little one ended up getting separated from us, they were being chased by a dwarf bulborb when we found them. But don’t worry, they’re safe now.”   
Now that he mentioned it, they did leave with a small group of pikmin earlier that day to bring back a few pellets, it was possible they had accidentally missed it when that blue wandered off. Pikmin were curious creatures, after all, they weren’t known for not getting distracted often.

Olimar walked past Charlie, going back to his spot near the flowers to continue taking notes on them. None of them moved to pluck the new sprouts just yet, the pikmin peacefully returned to their usual games. Out of all their members, Olimar certainly didn’t strike Alph as someone who was particularly good at charades. Could make a logical hypothesis about anything in the blink of an eye, sure, but understand some gestures in the first try?

“How did you guess it right so easily?” Brittany stepped closer until she stood beside him, looking at the tall flowers with interest. PNF-404 sure was strange, the flora grew so much even those simple weeds towered over their ship. She would like to take a look at the notes he’d acquired so far and add on to her own work.

“Uh?”

“We’ve been trying to figure out what they were trying to say, but we weren’t very successful, as you can see. Good thing you’re good at charades.” Charlie laughed, patting the head of that one rock pikmin that always followed the green clad captain everywhere they went.

“Oh, no no... I saw the pikmin use that gesture before, that’s all.” Olimar handed the botanist the notes he had taken on the plant while she was with her personal winged pikmin squadron, she gladly accepted and began adding in her own knowledge and observations. The older hocotatian had his share of biology knowledge, but flora was Brittany's expertise, she’d be able to understand and point out things he couldn’t.

“So, this means “ _pikmin in dange_ r”?”

Alph repeated that same gesture, eyes almost glimmering with awe as the simple movement was cast in a whole new light. They’d have to implement something in their pikminology notes about this.

“... Squadron...” Olimar brought his hands together as he turned to the koopaites, who watched his movements closely. Then he pulled one hand aside. “... Separated. Someone wandered off.”

“Ooh...” Alph was already typing out on his koppad, making a new entry for pikmin communication. Even if it felt a bit embarrassing not to have figured it out by themselves, it was still incredible to see.

“...How do you know that’s exactly what it means?” Brittany eyed the notes Alph was taking with some suspicion. For people who didn’t know her very well, it could sound like she was being particularly snappy, or even rude. Well Brittany was sarcastic, but she rarely ever means to offend those around her, her remarks were but her voicing out her thoughts without fear of what others will think. It was never to doubt what he knew, but rather to try to follow his train of thought, see where he was coming from. Alph always admired the crew he was assigned to, Charlie was special, but Brittany had a strength and confidence he could only dream of having himself.

“Oh, I... don’t know for sure, actually.” Olimar scratched behind his neck sheepishly, or would if the helmet were not in the way. He closed his hands again. “But I assume this means group, or at least union. They used this to warn me of some pikmin who ran off to get nectar.”

“I see... not all sign language is two or more specific words put together, sometimes entire sentences can have one simple and short sign. Very efficient, couldn’t expect any less from nature’s fiercest soldiers!” Captain Charlie added, smiling proudly at the plant creatures who played hide and seek in the grass. It was baffling how merciless those could be in a fight, their pure, childish nature shifting into pure determination as they faced a powerful threat.

The pikmin were so strange, yet fascinating.

“Indeed, they’re so much more clever than most give them credit for.”

“So you’ve seen them use this before? What else did you see?” Alph looked up after he finished typing out the first entry of the pikminology subfolder. Olimar hummed in thought, his ear twitching a bit as he tried to recall those specific gestures and tonalities.

“You see these yellows?” the koopaites followed his finger, finding a small group of yellow pikmin chirping together, their stems quivered and they squealed in glee. “their stems often show a pikmin’s emotions, they’re certainly excited. Although it can also mean nervousness, I’ve found that behavior often signifies they’re expecting something, good or bad.”

“Like a cat’s tail...” Charlie complemented, Alph was back to taking notes on their behaviour.

“What about that?” A blue pikmin chirped, holding its hands out, palms up, then brought them up. Their friends nodded and chriped.

“ _Onion_. Like bringing back materials for their nest.”

_Moo!_

“And that?”

“I... am not sure. But I believe it could mean they found something? The pikmin often said that after finding bomb rocks...Oh! That means bulborb!” The sign for the creature was hunching their backs slightly and putting their hands over their heads, signifying the eye stalks of the animal.

“Wow...I mean, I know it’s not like _exactly_ speaking their language, but you can understand them!” Alph cheered in excitement, he had barely made the Pikmin Communication subfolder and there was already so much to add.

Olimar chuckled, shaking his head with a smile. “Well... I can usually only understand their point, not much more than that.”

Being the oldest of the crew and a veteran pikmin tamer, it was only natural he’d pick up some of their mannerisms with time.

“Can you say we’re going out to find nectar?”

Olimar looked at Brittany, hesitantly reaching to his whistle and calling the pikmin towards them. The small creatures hurried to their side, awaiting their command with their usual blank stare. Despite his uncertainty, the pikmin patiently awaited a command, after a few seconds eventually brought his hands forward and began to sign. Bringing his hands up to his helmet as if he picked somethings off the ground and placed over his mouth, then over his head, making like a bud blossoming into a flower.

The reaction was almost immediate, the pikmin cheered in excitement, their stalks quivering as they danced and hopped in place.

“Well, isn’t this something?” Brittany smiled at how cute the pikmin were acting, it was similar to a class of kindergartens learning they were going to get ice cream.

“You think you could show us some signs?” Alph held up the koppad, taking a few pictures of the excited pikmin squad.

“Why, of course! I still struggle with some things, but I’ll do my best to share what I have, hopefully you three will find something useful.” The smile on Olimar’s face reminded the young engineer of a father offering a comforting smile to his children. The morning mist began to thin and the fauna and flora were so much clearer, the pikmin squadron eagerly followed their leaders into the grass, searching for any signs of the sweet golden nectar.

Charlie was rather interested in learning the pikmin language, Pikkish, as he named it, hoping to be able to share the battle plans with their soldiers. Olimar was a bit unsure he could communicate something so complex, but they knew he’d be willing to try in the name of science.

Alph gave one final read on his notes on their communication folder, giving it a few adjustments until he felt satisfied with it. Brittany walked past him, playing with the pikmin as they searched for their promised treat. They vaguely heard Louie returning with his own squadron, a slightly lower number than when he’d started, but several animal corpses with them as reward for their hard work. Most of it would go to the pikmin’s onions, but they knew the younger hocotatian would take the opportunity to cook some of them.

PNF-404 sure was strange, but in a strange way, they felt at home.


End file.
